SOME THINGS ARE BETTER LEFT UNKNOWN-part 1

I grew up in Oscoda, MI.  Population 952 as of 2007.  Just a little unincorporated town, home to the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base.  I lived on Iowa St.; south and a little east of the old base.  My grandfather was stationed at the base for 30 yrs as Bomber Mechanic, retiring in 1982, and in 1974 my Dad signed on to the USAF to learn to fly.  He too was assigned to Wurtsmith and joined "The Accellerated Co-Pilot Enrichment Program" after of five T37 aircraft to the base.  Dad was a year away from retirement, when the Government closed the base and moved all the equipment to other installations.  They let him become non-commissioned and finish out his time manning the guard gate through 1995.


While I was growing up, I heard stories from the older kids in the neighborhood about the night in Jan. 1979, the UFO flew around and over the base.  How the fighter pilots chased it, until they lost track, and then as the pilots headed back to the base the UFO began following them.  Neither my Grandparents nor Parents would discuss the issue, no matter how hard I pressed them.  Overtime people just eventually stopped talking about it all together, and life fell back into it's normal rythm of school, eat, sleep, and recreation for me and my buddies.

By the spring of 2002, I was preparing to start classes at the local college, my grandparents had passed on about a year ago, just 6 months apart, and my parents retired to a life of boating and fishing on Lake Huron, 10 minutes away.  The house I grew up in was now mine.  One day, I got up early and decided to tackle all the stuff left behind in the attic.  What a collection;  books, old toys, furniture, and a odd set of old maps.  I took them downstairs and shook off the dust, and unrolled them on the kitchen table.  I had found the original house plans as well as the survey map of the property.  How strange, I thought.  The property boundaries extended well into the thick tree line 40ft from the back of the house.  In that moment, I realized that as a child, I had never wandered off into the trees, nor had I ever seen anyone else explore them either.  Though I do remember being told to stay out of them, because of the wild animals inhabiting the area.  Now my curiosity was peaked.  I had to see what was lies within the trees.  It was too late to start out now, the Sun had already started to fade.  Tomorrow, I exclaimed.  I would gather a few things in my backpack and head off.  Tonight, I sleep.

At 6:00am the alarm clock began to beep.  I just wanted to roll over.  Then it dawned on me, today I am an explorer.  Quickly, I washed up, dressed, grabbed my backpack and headed out the back door.  Excited and nervous all at the same time.  Within moments, I reached the tree line and stepped into the dense grove.  How far before I reach the other side?

***to be continued***